Dear colleagues,

I’m writing today to share information about the university’s responsibilities under federal law should a non-tenure track (NTT) faculty union be certified on our campus. I also want to share some of the issues that could be raised during union negotiations.

Bargain in good faith: As required by the National Labor Relations Act, if a union is voted in and certified, the university’s responsibilities will be to meet with the union at reasonable times and negotiate in good faith the terms and conditions of employment for NTT faculty in the bargaining unit.

Not required to agree: Under federal law, neither party in good faith bargaining is required to agree to any proposal or to make a concession. In other words, in negotiations, Vanderbilt could say “No” to any SEIU proposal that was not the right fit for our culture or our future.

What could be negotiated: Negotiations are a give-and-take process and could produce a result that pleases some in the bargaining unit, but not others. As we share in the FAQ, there is no guarantee during bargaining: terms could improve, decrease or stay the same. Some of the items that could be negotiated are salary, teaching load, teaching assignments, benefits, grievance procedures, investigation procedures, royalty policy, paid time off and more.

Contract timeline: We do not know how long it might take to finalize a contract. We do know that at the University of Chicago, the SEIU was certified to represent NTTs in December 2015 but no contract has been finalized. Similarly, the Duke union was certified in March 2016, but no contract has been finalized. In fact, federal law does not require that negotiations produce a collective bargaining agreement at all. As stated above, the law only requires that the parties bargain in good faith.

I again welcome and respect the open dialogue on this important process and decision. Please do consider attending the specially-called Faculty Senate town hall for all faculty on NTT faculty unionization Thursday, March 30 from 3 to 5 p.m. in Flynn Auditorium at the Law School. I also encourage you to consult the FAQs and previous messages on our informational website.

Sincerely,

Susan R. Wente
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs